Chapter 6121: WATER DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

(A) "Beneficial use" means a use of water,
including the method of diversion, storage, transportation, treatment, and
application, that is reasonable and consistent with the public interest in the
proper utilization of water resources, including, without limitation, domestic,
agricultural, industrial, power, municipal, navigational, fish and wildlife,
and recreational uses.

(B)
"Governmental agencies" means departments, divisions, or other units of state
government, watershed districts, soil and water conservation districts,
municipal corporations, counties, townships, and other political subdivisions,
special water districts, including county and regional sewer and water
districts, conservancy districts, sanitary districts, sewer districts, or any
other public corporation or agency having the authority to acquire, construct,
or operate waste water or water management facilities, the United States or any
agency thereof, and any agency, commission, or authority established pursuant
to an interstate compact or agreement.

(C) "Person" means any individual, firm,
partnership, association, or corporation, or two or more or any combination
thereof.

(D) "Waters of the state"
means all streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells,
springs, irrigation systems, drainage systems, and other bodies or
accumulations of water, surface and underground, natural or artificial, that
are situated wholly or partly within, or border upon, this state or are within
its jurisdiction, except those private waters that do not combine or effect a
junction with natural surface or underground waters.

(E) "Water resources" means all waters of the
state occurring on the surface in natural or artificial channels, lakes,
reservoirs, or impoundments, and underground in subsurface aquifers, that are
available or may be made available to agricultural, industrial, commercial,
recreational, public, and domestic users.

(F) "Project" or "water development project"
means either of the following:

(1) Any waste
water facility or water management facility, including undivided or other
interests therein, acquired or constructed or to be acquired or constructed by
the Ohio water development authority under this chapter, or acquired or
constructed or to be acquired or constructed by a governmental agency or person
with all or a portion of the cost thereof being paid from a loan or grant from
the authority under this chapter, including all buildings and facilities that
the authority considers necessary for the operation of the project, together
with all property, rights, easements, and interest that may be required for the
operation of the project;

(G) "Pollution" means
the placing of any noxious or deleterious substances in any waters of the state
or otherwise affecting the waters or properties of any waters of the state,
including the temperature or radioactivity thereof, in a manner that is or
renders the waters harmful or inimical to the public health, to animal or
aquatic life, or to the use of the waters for domestic water supply,
industrial, or agricultural purposes or recreation.

(H) "Sewage" means any substance that
contains any of the waste products or excrementitious or other discharge from
the bodies of human beings or animals and that pollutes the waters of the state
or that in the absence of a waste water facility would pollute or cause greater
pollution of the waters of the state.

(I) "Industrial waste" means any liquid,
gaseous, or solid waste substance, heat, radioactivity, or radiation, resulting
from any process of industry, manufacture, trade, or business, or from the
development, processing, or recovery of any natural resource, together with
such sewage as is present, that pollutes the waters of the state or that in the
absence of a waste water facility would pollute or cause greater pollution of
the waters of the state.

(J)
"Waste water" means any water containing sewage or industrial waste or other
pollutants or contaminants derived from the prior use of the water.

(K) "Waste water facilities" means
facilities, property, or the modification or replacement of property for the
purpose of treating, neutralizing, disposing of, stabilizing, dispersing,
cooling, segregating, or holding waste water, or for the removal, reduction,
containment, alteration, storage, or disposal of sewage or industrial waste or
substances containing sewage or industrial waste, or for the prevention or
reduction, or reduction of the concentration, of pollution of the waters of the
state, including, without limitation, facilities for the withdrawal of waters
of the state, facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage or industrial
waste and the residue thereof, facilities for the temporary or permanent
impoundment of waste water, both surface and underground, and sanitary sewers
and other systems, whether on the surface or underground, designed to transport
waste water together with the equipment and furnishings thereof and their
appurtenances and systems, whether on the surface or underground, including
force mains and pumping facilities therefor when necessary, and facilities or
expenditures that qualify as water pollution control facilities under Section
103(C)(4)(F) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, and regulations
adopted thereunder, and also includes any property or system to be used in
whole or in part for any of the foregoing purposes, whether or not another
purpose also is served, and any property or system incidental to or that has to
do with or the end purpose of which is any of the foregoing. Waste water
facilities as defined in this division for industry, commerce, distribution, or
research, including public utility companies, are hereby determined to be those
that qualify as facilities for the control of water pollution and thermal
pollution related to water under Section 13 of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution.

(L) "Water management facilities"
means facilities for the development, use, and protection of water resources,
including, without limitation, facilities for water supply, facilities for
stream flow improvement, dams, reservoirs, and other impoundments, water
transmission lines, water wells and well fields, pumping stations and works for
underground water recharge, facilities for the management and treatment of
storm water, stream monitoring systems, facilities for the stabilization of
stream and river banks and coastal erosion areas, as defined in section
1506.01 of the Revised Code, and
facilities for the treatment of streams and rivers, including, without
limitation, facilities for the removal of oil, debris, and other solid waste
from the waters of the state and stream and river aeration facilities.

(M) "Cost" as applied to a water
development project means the cost of acquisition and construction, the cost of
acquisition of all land, rights-of-way, property rights, easements, franchise
rights, and interests required for that acquisition and construction, the cost
of demolishing or removing any buildings or structures on land so acquired,
including the cost of acquiring any lands to which the buildings or structures
may be moved, the cost of acquiring or constructing and equipping a principal
office and sub-offices of the authority, the cost of diverting highways,
interchange of highways, or access roads to private property, including the
cost of land or easements therefor, the cost of all machinery, furnishings, and
equipment, financing charges, interest prior to and during construction and for
no more than eighteen months after completion of construction, engineering
costs, expenses of research and development with respect to waste water or
water management facilities, legal expenses, the cost of plans, specifications,
and surveys, estimates of cost and revenues, working capital, other expenses
necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of
acquiring or constructing any such project, administrative expense, and other
expense that may be necessary or incident to the acquisition or construction of
the project, the financing of the acquisition or construction including the
amount authorized in the resolution of the authority providing for the issuance
of water development revenue bonds to be paid into any special funds from the
proceeds of the bonds, and the financing of the placing of any such project in
operation. Any obligation, cost, or expense incurred by any governmental agency
or person for surveys, borings, preparation of plans and specifications, and
other engineering services, or any other costs described above, in connection
with the acquisition or construction of a project may be regarded as a part of
the cost of the project and may be reimbursed out of the proceeds of water
development revenue bonds as authorized by this chapter.

(N) "Owner" includes all individuals,
copartnerships, associations, corporations, or governmental agencies having any
title or interest in any property rights, easements, and interests authorized
to be acquired by this chapter.

(O) "Revenues" means all rentals and other
charges for the use or services of any water development project, any gift or
grant received with respect thereto, including, without limitation, any moneys
received by the authority pursuant to an agreement entered into under section
6109.22,
6111.036, or
6111.037 of the Revised Code, any
moneys received with respect to the lease, sublease, sale, including
installment sale or conditional sale, or other disposition of a project, moneys
received in repayment of and for interest on any loan made by the authority to
a person or governmental agency, whether from the United States or a
department, administration, or agency thereof, or otherwise, proceeds of bonds
to the extent that use thereof for payment of principal of, premium if any, or
interest on the bonds is authorized by the authority, proceeds from any
insurance, condemnation, or guaranty pertaining to a project or property
mortgaged to secure bonds or pertaining to the financing of the project, and
income and profit from the investment of the proceeds of water development
revenue bonds or of any revenues.

(P) "Public roads" includes all public
highways, roads, and streets in the state whether maintained by the state or a
county, municipal corporation, township, or other political subdivision.

(Q) "Public utility facilities"
includes tracks, pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, towers, poles, and
other equipment and appliances of any public utility.

(R) "Construction," unless the context
indicates a different meaning or intent, includes reconstruction, enlargement,
improvement, or providing furnishings or equipment.

(S) "Water development revenue bonds," unless
the context indicates a different meaning or intent, includes water development
revenue notes, water development revenue renewal notes, and water development
revenue refunding bonds, except that notes issued in anticipation of the
issuance of bonds shall have a maximum maturity of five years as provided in
section 6121.06 of the Revised Code and
notes or renewal notes issued as the definitive obligation may be issued
maturing at the time or times that the authority determines with a maximum
maturity of forty years from the date of issuance of the original note.

There is hereby created the Ohio water development authority.
Such authority is a body both corporate and politic in this state, and the
carrying out of its purposes and the exercise by it of the powers conferred by
this chapter shall be held to be, and are hereby determined to be, essential
governmental functions and public purposes of the state, but the authority is
not immune from liability by reason thereof. The authority is subject to all
provisions of law generally applicable to state agencies that do not conflict
with this chapter.

The authority shall consist of eight members as follows: five
members appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate,
no more than three of whom shall be members of the same political party, and
the directors of natural resources, environmental protection, and development,
who shall be members ex officio without compensation. The director of
development may designate a person in the unclassified civil service to serve
in the director's place as a member of the authority notwithstanding section
121.05 of the Revised Code. The
appointive members shall be residents of the state, and shall have been
qualified electors therein for a period of at least five years next preceding
their appointment. Appointed members' terms of office shall be for eight years,
commencing on the second day of July and ending on the first day of July. Each
member shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end of the term
for which the member was appointed. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy
occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's
predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of such term. Any
appointed member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of
the member's term until the member's successor takes office, or until a period
of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first. A member of the authority is
eligible for reappointment. Each appointed member of the authority, before
entering upon the performance of the duties of the office, shall take an oath
as provided by Section 7 of Article XV, Ohio Constitution. The governor may at
any time remove any member of the authority for misfeasance, nonfeasance, or
malfeasance in office.

The authority shall elect one of its appointed members as
chairperson and another as vice-chairperson, and shall appoint a
secretary-treasurer who need not be a member of the authority. Four members of
the authority shall constitute a quorum, and the affirmative vote of four
members shall be necessary for any action taken by vote of the authority. No
vacancy in the membership of the authority shall impair the rights of a quorum
by such vote to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the
authority.

Before the issuance of any water development revenue bonds
under this chapter, each appointed member of the authority shall give a surety
bond to the state in the penal sum of twenty-five thousand dollars and the
secretary-treasurer shall give such a bond in the penal sum of fifty thousand
dollars, each such surety bond to be conditioned upon the faithful performance
of the duties of the office, to be executed by a surety company authorized to
transact business in this state, and to be approved by the governor and filed
in the office of the secretary of state. Each appointed member of the authority
shall receive an annual salary of five thousand dollars, payable in monthly
installments, and is entitled to health care benefits comparable to those
generally available to state officers and employees under section
124.82 of the Revised Code. If
Section 20 of Article II, Ohio Constitution, prohibits the Ohio water
development authority from paying all or a part of the cost of health care
benefits on behalf of a member of the authority for the remainder of an
existing term, the member may receive these benefits by paying their total cost
from the member's own financial resources, including paying by means of
deductions from the member's salary. Each member shall be reimbursed for actual
expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of official duties. All
expenses incurred in carrying out this chapter shall be payable solely from
funds provided under this chapter, or appropriated for such purpose by the
general assembly and no liability or obligation shall be incurred by the
authority beyond the extent to which moneys have been provided under this
chapter or such appropriations.

It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the state
through the operations of the Ohio water development authority under this
chapter to contribute toward one or more of the following: to preserve,
protect, upgrade, conserve, develop, utilize, and manage the water resources of
the state, to prevent or abate the pollution of water resources, to promote the
beneficial use of waters of the state for the protection and preservation of
the public health, safety, convenience, and welfare, to assist in the financing
of waste water facilities and water management facilities for industry,
commerce, distribution, and research, including public utility companies, to
create or preserve jobs and employment opportunities or improve the economic
welfare of the people of the state, or to assist and cooperate with
governmental agencies in achieving such purposes. In furtherance of such public
policy the Ohio water development authority may initiate, acquire, construct,
maintain, repair, and operate water development projects or cause the same to
be operated pursuant to a lease, sublease, or agreement with any person or
governmental agency; may make loans and grants to governmental agencies for the
acquisition or construction of waste water or water management facilities by
such governmental agencies; may make loans to persons for the acquisition or
construction of waste water facilities or water management facilities by such
persons; and may issue water development revenue bonds of this state payable
solely from revenues, to pay the cost of such projects, provided that, except
for facilities for pollution control or solid waste disposal, no such financing
assistance shall be made for facilities to be constructed for the purpose of
providing electric or gas utility service to the public. Any water development
project shall be determined by the authority to be consistent with any
applicable comprehensive plan of water management approved by the director of
environmental protection or in the process of preparation by such director and
to be not inconsistent with the standards set for the waters of the state
affected thereby by the director of environmental protection. Any resolution of
the authority providing for acquiring or constructing such projects or for
making a loan or grant for such projects shall include a finding by the
authority that such determinations have been made. Determinations by resolution
of the authority that a project is a waste water facility or a water management
facility under this chapter and is consistent with the purposes of Section 13
of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution, and this chapter shall be conclusive as to
the validity and enforceability of the water development revenue bonds issued
to finance such project and of the resolutions, trust agreements or indentures,
leases, subleases, sale agreements, loan agreements and other agreements made
in connection therewith, all in accordance with their terms.

(C) Maintain a
principal office and suboffices at places within the state that it
designates;

(D) Sue and
plead in its own name and be sued and impleaded in its own name with respect to
its contracts or torts of its members, employees, or agents acting within the
scope of their employment, or to enforce its obligations and covenants made
under sections 6121.06,
6121.08, and
6121.13 of the Revised Code. Any
such actions against the authority shall be brought in the court of common
pleas of the county in which the principal office of the authority is located
or in the court of common pleas of the county in which the cause of action
arose, provided that the county is located within this state, and all
summonses, exceptions, and notices of every kind shall be served on the
authority by leaving a copy thereof at the principal office with the person in
charge thereof or with the secretary-treasurer of the authority.

(E)
Make loans and grants to governmental agencies for the acquisition or
construction of water development projects by any such governmental agency and
adopt rules and procedures for making such loans and grants;

(F)
Acquire, construct, reconstruct, enlarge, improve, furnish, equip, maintain,
repair, operate, or lease or rent to, or contract for operation by, a
governmental agency or person, water development projects, and establish rules
for the use of those projects;

(G)
Make available the use or services of any water development project to one or
more persons, one or more governmental agencies, or any combination
thereof;

(H) Issue water
development revenue bonds and notes and water development revenue refunding
bonds of the state, payable solely from revenues as provided in section
6121.06 of the Revised Code,
unless the bonds are refunded by refunding bonds, for the purpose of paying any
part of the cost of one or more water development projects or parts
thereof;

(I) Acquire by
gift or purchase, hold, and dispose of real and personal property in the
exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under this
chapter;

(J) Acquire, in
the name of the state, by purchase or otherwise, on terms and in the manner
that it considers proper, or by the exercise of the right of condemnation in
the manner provided by section
6121.18 of the Revised Code,
public or private lands, including public parks, playgrounds, or reservations,
or parts thereof or rights therein, rights-of-way, property, rights, easements,
and interests that it considers necessary for carrying out this chapter, but
excluding the acquisition by the exercise of the right of condemnation of any
waste water facility or water management facility owned by any person or
governmental agency, and compensation shall be paid for public or private lands
so taken, except that a government-owned waste water facility may be
appropriated in accordance with section
6121.041 of the Revised
Code;

(K) Adopt rules
to protect augmented flow in waters of the state, to the extent augmented by a
water development project, from depletion so it will be available for
beneficial use, and to provide standards for the withdrawal from waters of the
state of the augmented flow created by a water development project that is not
returned to the waters of the state so augmented and to establish reasonable
charges therefor if considered necessary by the authority;

(L)
Make and enter into all contracts and agreements and execute all instruments
necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of
its powers under this chapter in accordance with the following requirements:

(1)
When the cost under any such contract or agreement, other than compensation for
personal services, involves an expenditure of more than
fifty thousand dollars, the authority shall make a
written contract with the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, in
accordance with section
9.312 of the Revised Code, after
advertisement for not less than two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation in Franklin county, and in other publications that the authority
determines, which shall state the general character of the work and the general
character of the materials to be furnished, the place where plans and
specifications therefor may be examined, and the time and place of receiving
bids, provided that a contract or lease for the operation of a water
development project constructed and owned by the authority or an agreement for
cooperation in the acquisition or construction of a water development project
pursuant to section 6121.13 of the Revised Code or
any contract for the construction of a water development proj ect that is to be
leased by the authority to, and operated by, persons who are not governmental
agencies and the cost of the project is to be amortized exclusively from
rentals or other charges paid to the authority by persons who are not
governmental agencies is not subject to the foregoing requirements and the
authority may enter into such a contract or lease or such an agreement pursuant
to negotiation and upon terms and conditions and for the period that it finds
to be reasonable and proper in the circumstances and in the best interests of
proper operation or of efficient acquisition or construction of the
project.

(2) Each bid for
a contract for the construction, demolition, alteration, repair, or
reconstruction of an improvement shall contain the full name of every person
interested in it and shall meet the requirements of section
153.54 of the Revised
Code.

(3) Each bid for
a contract except as provided in division (L)(2) of this section shall contain
the full name of every person or company interested in it and shall be
accompanied by a sufficient bond or certified check on a solvent bank that if
the bid is accepted, a contract will be entered into and the performance
thereof secured.

(5) A
bond with good and sufficient surety, approved by the authority, shall be
required of every contractor awarded a contract except as provided in division
(L)(2) of this section, in an amount equal to at least fifty per cent of the
contract price, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the
contract.

(M) Employ
managers, superintendents, and other employees and retain or contract with
consulting engineers, financial consultants, accounting experts, architects,
attorneys, and other consultants and independent contractors that are necessary
in its judgment to carry out this chapter, and fix the compensation thereof.
All expenses thereof shall be payable solely from the proceeds of water
development revenue bonds or notes issued under this chapter, from revenues, or
from funds appropriated for that purpose by the general assembly.

(N)
Receive and accept from any federal agency, subject to the approval of the
governor, grants for or in aid of the construction of any water development
project or for research and development with respect to waste water or water
management facilities, and receive and accept aid or contributions from any
source of money, property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used,
and applied only for the purposes for which the grants and contributions are
made;

(O) Engage in
research and development with respect to waste water or water management
facilities;

(P) Purchase
fire and extended coverage and liability insurance for any water development
project and for the principal office and suboffices of the authority, insurance
protecting the authority and its officers and employees against liability for
damage to property or injury to or death of persons arising from its
operations, and any other insurance the authority may agree to provide under
any resolution authorizing its water development revenue bonds or in any trust
agreement securing the same;

(Q)
Charge, alter, and collect rentals and other charges for the use or services of
any water development project as provided in section
6121.13 of the Revised
Code;

(R) Provide
coverage for its employees under Chapters 145., 4123., and 4141. of the Revised
Code;

(S) Assist in
the implementation and administration of the drinking water assistance fund and
program created in section
6109.22 of the Revised Code and
the water pollution control loan fund and program created in section
6111.036 of the Revised Code,
including, without limitation, performing or providing fiscal management for
the funds and investing and disbursing moneys in the funds, and enter into all
necessary and appropriate agreements with the director of environmental
protection for those purposes;

(T)
Issue water development revenue bonds and notes of the state in principal
amounts that are necessary for the purpose of raising moneys for the sole
benefit of the water pollution control loan fund created in section
6111.036 of the Revised Code,
including moneys to meet the requirement for providing matching moneys under
division (D) of that section. The bonds and notes may be secured by appropriate
trust agreements and repaid from moneys credited to the fund from payments of
principal and interest on loans made from the fund, as provided in division (F)
of section 6111.036 of the Revised
Code.

(U) Issue water
development revenue bonds and notes of the state in principal amounts that are
necessary for the purpose of raising moneys for the sole benefit of the
drinking water assistance fund created in section
6109.22 of the Revised Code,
including moneys to meet the requirement for providing matching moneys under
divisions (B) and (F) of that section. The bonds and notes may be secured by
appropriate trust agreements and repaid from moneys credited to the fund from
payments of principal and interest on loans made from the fund, as provided in
division (F) of section
6109.22 of the Revised
Code.

(V) Make loans
to and enter into agreements with boards of county commissioners for the
purposes of section 1506.44 of the Revised Code and
adopt rules establishing requirements and procedures for making the loans and
entering into the agreements;

(W) Do
all acts necessary or proper to carry out the powers expressly granted in this
chapter.

Any instrument by which
real property is acquired pursuant to this section shall identify the agency of
the state that has the use and benefit of the real property as specified in
section 5301.012 of the Revised
Code.

If the director of environmental protection refuses to renew or
extend the period of a permit to a governmental agency or person operating a
disposal system which receives sewage from a residential area, for the reason
that the permit holder has failed to comply with an order of the director and
has been in default for a period of at least one hundred eighty days, and the
director finds that the former permit holder is creating a public nuisance
under section
6111.04 of the Revised Code which
adversely affects residents of a political subdivision, other than the one
served by the disposal system which is in default, by affecting the properties
of waters of the state in a manner which renders such waters harmful or
inimical to the public health, animal or aquatic life, or the use of such
waters for domestic water supply, industrial or agricultural purposes, or for
recreation, the director may request the Ohio water development authority to
establish a waste water facilities service area for the purpose of eliminating
such nuisance. Upon receipt of the request the authority may issue orders
designating a waste water facilities service area. The area shall include the
waste water facilities of one or more former permit holders who are in default
and the waste water facilities of all persons or governmental agencies served
by such facilities, and may include any contiguous territory not served by
waste water facilities that the authority determines to be desirable to include
in the area in order to achieve the most efficient and economical waste
disposal and treatment in the area, and any other governmental agency or person
that enters an agreement with the authority to join. The order may not include
facilities or territory served by waste water facilities which are in
compliance with the orders of the board and the terms and conditions of a
permit unless agreed to by the person or governmental agency holding the
permit. In determining the areas to be served and designing facilities
therefor, the authority shall consider technical feasibility and economic
reasonableness in order to conserve water resources, maximize the economies of
scale of regional or combined treatment facilities, and attain applicable water
quality standards at reasonable cost. The authority may modify or revoke its
orders in order to achieve the purposes of this section.

Before issuing, modifying, or revoking any such order, the
authority shall hold a public hearing within the area and give at least
twenty-one days notice of the hearing and a copy of the proposed order or
changes thereto to the chief executive and fiscal officer of each governmental
agency and each other person subject to a proposed rate, rental, or charge. The
order may fix and impose rates, rentals, or charges upon the users of, or the
persons or property served by, a waste water facility or project, or upon any
governmental agency or person in the area for the provision of waste water
facilities services to the governmental agency or person by the authority. Such
rates, rentals, or charges shall be sufficient to cover all costs, including
the recovery of the capital costs and debt service expenses of the authority
for waste water facility services in the area, and any debt service on
obligations in effect at the time of the order. No portion of the cost of
acquisition of a waste water facility by appropriation may be charged against
the governmental agency from which the facility was acquired. The authority may
recover a portion of such acquisition cost from the users served and property
benefited by the facility at the time of acquisition. The authority shall
determine the portion of such cost to be recovered from users served and
property benefited at the time of acquisition on the basis of the volume and
degree of treatment of sewage, industrial wastes, and other wastes from such
users and property, in relation to the volume and degree of treatment of
sewage, industrial waste, and other wastes from other parts of the waste water
facilities service area. The order may impose any terms and conditions in the
area that the authority deems necessary for the provision of such services. The
authority shall mail a copy of any order or change thereto made under this
section to the chief executive and fiscal officer of each governmental agency
and each other person served or affected.

Each governmental agency or person subject to a rate, rental,
or charge shall pay the charges when due in accordance with the order. Every
officer responsible for the administration or operation of a waste water
facility subject to such order and every employee thereof shall carry out the
order.

The authority may appropriate property within a waste water
facilities service area, including government owned waste water facilities, in
accordance with Chapter 163. of the Revised Code, if the authority considers
such appropriation necessary for carrying out the purposes of this section. No
person shall interfere with an officer or employee of the Ohio water
development authority in the care and operation of a waste water facility
appropriated by the authority.

The consideration received by a governmental agency for its
property which is appropriated under this section shall be placed in a separate
fund which may be used by its legislative authority or governing body only for
one or more of the following purposes:

(A) Credits against rates, rentals, or other
charges imposed by the authority upon the agency, the users served, and
property benefited by the facility, or against rates, rentals, and other
charges imposed by the agency against the users served and property benefited
by the facility;

(B) Construction
or improvement of waste water facilities by the agency or the authority.

For the purpose of paying rates, rentals, or charges imposed
pursuant to an order issued under section
6121.041 of the Revised Code, a
governmental agency may raise money by any method or combination of methods
authorized by law, as if the governmental agency itself were proposing to
construct, were constructing, or had constructed waste water facilities. For
such purpose the legislative authority of a municipal corporation or the board
of county commissioners of a county may by resolution define an area, within
their respective jurisdictions, that will derive a benefit from the waste water
facilities service provided under an order, and may fix and impose rates or
charges upon the owners or occupants of lands within such area.

If a governmental agency fails to pay any charge imposed
pursuant to an order issued under section
6121.041 of the Revised Code
within sixty days of the date due, such charge shall be deducted from the
amount of the undivided local government fund to which the agency is entitled
pursuant to section
5747.51 or
5747.53 of the Revised Code, and
shall be paid directly to the Ohio water development authority. If a person
fails to pay a charge within sixty days of the date due, the authority shall
certify such charge to the county auditor, who shall place the charge on the
real property tax list and duplicate against the property served. Such charge
becomes a lien on such property from the date it is certified by the authority,
and shall be collected in the manner that taxes are ordinarily collected and
forwarded to the authority.

Any revenues or other moneys pledged against obligations which
are collected by the authority in the operation of a single or regional system
of waste water facilities shall first be applied to the payment of debt service
on such obligations. No action of the authority relieves a governmental agency
of any duty which it may have to pay such obligations.

(A) With respect to projects which are waste
water facilities or water management facilities, and the financing thereof, for
industry, commerce, distribution, or research, including public utility
companies, under agreements whereby the person to whom the project is to be
leased, sub-leased, or sold or to whom a loan is to be made for the project is
to make payments sufficient to pay all of the principal of, premium, if any,
and interest on the water development revenue bonds issued for the project, the
authority may, in addition to other powers under this chapter:

(1) Make loans for the acquisition or
construction of the project to such person upon such terms as the authority may
determine or authorize, including secured or unsecured loans, and, in
connection therewith, enter into loan agreements, accept notes and other forms
of obligation to evidence such indebtedness and mortgages, liens, pledges,
assignments, or other security interests to secure such indebtedness, which may
be prior or subordinate to or on a parity with other indebtedness, obligations,
mortgages, pledges, assignments, other security interests, or liens or
encumbrances; and take such actions as may be considered by it appropriate to
protect such security and safeguard against losses, including, without
limitation thereto, foreclosure and the bidding upon the purchase of property
upon foreclosure or other sale;

(2) Sell such project under such terms as it
may determine, including, without limitation thereto, sale by conditional sale
or installment sale, under which title may pass prior to or after completion of
the project or payment or provisions for payment of all principal of, premium,
if any, and interest on such bonds, or at any other time provided in such
agreement pertaining to such sale, and including sale under an option to
purchase at a price which may be a nominal amount or less than true value at
the time of purchase;

(3) Grant a
mortgage, lien or other encumbrance on, or pledge or assignment of, or with
respect to, all or any part of the project, revenues, reserve funds or other
funds established in connection with such bonds, or on, of, or with respect to
any lease, sub-lease, sale, conditional sale or installment sale agreement,
loan agreement, or other agreement pertaining to the lease, sub-lease, sale, or
other disposition of a project or pertaining to a loan made for a project, or
any guaranty or insurance agreement made with respect thereto, or any interest
of the authority therein, or any other interest granted, assigned, or released
to secure payments of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the
bonds or to secure any other payments to be made by the authority, which
mortgage, lien, encumbrance, pledge, assignment or such other security interest
may be prior or subordinate to or on a parity with any other mortgage, pledge,
assignment, other security interest, or lien or encumbrance;

(4) Provide that the interest on such bonds
may be at a variable rate or rates changing from time to time in accordance
with a base or formula as authorized by the authority;

(5) Contract for the acquisition or
construction of such project or any part thereof and for the leasing,
sub-leasing, sale, or other disposition of such project in a manner determined
by the authority in its sole discretion, without necessity for competitive
bidding, provided that controlling board approval of a waiver of competitive
bidding is obtained when required under section
127.16 of the Revised Code, or
performance bonds.

(B)
Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, property comprising a project
is not subject to taxes or assessments so long as the bonds or notes issued to
finance the costs of such project are outstanding. Any waste water facility or
water management facility is subject to all taxes and assessments levied upon
the facility if the facility is not owned by the authority or a governmental
agency; is owned by the authority and operated pursuant to a lease or sublease
by a person that is not a governmental agency; is the subject of an agreement
whereby the facility is or will be sold to a person that is not a governmental
agency and that person operates the facility pursuant to that agreement; or is
the subject of an agreement whereby a loan is made by the authority to a person
that is not a governmental agency. The person operating the facility pursuant
to the lease, sublease, or agreement is liable for payment of all such taxes
and assessments.

The transfer of title to or possession of such property to the
person to whom a loan or installment sale or conditional sale with respect to
such project is made is not subject to the taxes levied pursuant to Chapters
5739. and 5741. of the Revised Code.

The authority shall certify property comprising a project that
is exempt from taxes and assessments pursuant to this section, and shall send,
by certified mail, copies of such certification to the owner of the exempt
property, to the tax commissioner, and to the county auditor of the county or
counties in which any the exempt property is located.

Each county auditor shall maintain a separate list of all
property exempted pursuant to this section and sections
3706.041 and
6123.041 of the Revised Code, in
addition to the list of exempt property required to be maintained pursuant to
section 5713.07 of the Revised Code.

(C) The authority, in the
lease, sale, or loan agreement with respect to a project referred to in
division (A) of this section, shall make appropriate provision for adequate
maintenance of the project.

(D)
With respect to the projects referred to in this section, the authority granted
by this section is cumulative and supplementary to all other authority granted
in this chapter. The authority granted by this section does not alter or impair
any similar authority granted elsewhere in this chapter with respect to other
projects.

With respect to a loan made under this chapter, the Ohio water
development authority shall not charge any fees or fines that, in the
aggregate, exceed an amount equal to the principal amount of the loan.

With the approval and the consent of the controlling board, the
director of natural resources shall expend, out of any funds available for the
purpose, such moneys as are necessary for the study of any proposed water
development project, and may use its engineering and other forces, including
consulting engineers and sanitary engineers, for the purpose of effecting such
study. All such expenses incurred by such directors prior to the issuance of
water development revenue bonds or notes under Chapter 6121. of the Revised
Code, shall be paid by the respective directors incurring such expenses and
charged to the appropriate water development project, and the respective
directors shall keep proper records and accounts, showing the amounts so
charged. Upon the sale of water development revenue bonds or notes for a water
development project, the funds so expended by the respective directors, with
the approval of the Ohio water development authority, in connection with such
project, shall be reimbursed to the respective departments from the proceeds of
such bonds or notes.

(A) The Ohio water development authority,
from time to time, may issue water development revenue bonds and notes of the
state in such principal amount as, in the opinion of the authority, are
necessary for the purpose of paying any part of the cost of one or more water
development projects or parts thereof. The authority, from time to time, may
issue renewal notes, issue bonds to pay those notes, and whenever it considers
refunding, including funding and retirement, expedient, refund any bonds by the
issuance of water development revenue refunding bonds of the state, whether the
bonds to be refunded have or have not matured, and issue bonds partly to refund
bonds then outstanding, and partly for any other authorized purpose. The
refunding bonds may be issued in amounts sufficient for payment of the
principal amount of the bonds to be so refunded, any redemption premiums
thereon, principal maturities of any bonds maturing prior to the redemption of
the bonds to be so refunded, interest accrued or to accrue to the maturity
dates or dates of redemption of the bonds, and any expenses incurred or to be
incurred in connection with the refunding, funding, and retirement and issuance
of the bonds.

Except as may otherwise be expressly provided by the authority,
every issue of its bonds or notes shall be general obligations of the authority
payable out of the revenues of the authority, which are pledged for that
payment, without preference or priority of the first bonds issued, subject only
to any agreements with the holders of particular bonds or notes pledging any
particular revenues. The pledge shall be valid and binding from the time the
pledge is made, and the revenues so pledged and thereafter received by the
authority immediately shall be subject to the lien of that pledge without any
physical delivery thereof or further act, and the lien of any such pledge is
valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort,
contract, or otherwise against the authority, irrespective of whether the
parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolution nor any trust agreement by
which a pledge is created need be filed or recorded except in the records of
the authority.

Whether or not the bonds or notes are of such form and
character as to be negotiable instruments, the bonds or notes shall have all
the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments, subject only to the
provisions of the bonds or notes for registration.

The bonds and notes shall be authorized by resolution of the
authority, shall bear such date or dates, and shall mature at such time or
times, in the case of any such note or any renewals thereof not exceeding five
years from the date of issue of the original note, and in the case of any such
bond not exceeding forty years from the date of issue, as the resolution or
resolutions may provide. The bonds and notes shall bear interest at such rate
or rates, be in such denominations, be in such form, either coupon or
registered, carry such registration privileges, be payable in such medium of
payment, at such place or places, and be subject to such terms of redemption as
the authority may authorize. The bonds and notes of the authority may be sold
by the authority, at public or private sale, at or not less than such price or
prices as the authority determines.

The bonds and notes shall be executed by the chairperson and
vice-chairperson of the authority, either or both of whom may use a facsimile
signature, the official seal of the authority or a facsimile thereof shall be
affixed thereto or printed thereon and attested, manually or by facsimile
signature, by the secretary-treasurer of the authority, and any coupons
attached thereto shall bear the signature or facsimile signature of the
chairperson of the authority. If any officer whose signature, or a facsimile of
whose signature, appears on any bonds, notes, or coupons ceases to be such an
officer before delivery of the bonds or notes, the officer's signature or
facsimile is nevertheless sufficient for all purposes the same as if the
officer had remained in office until the delivery, and if the seal of the
authority has been changed after a facsimile has been imprinted on any bonds or
notes, the facsimile seal continues to be sufficient for all purposes.

Any resolution or resolutions authorizing any bonds or notes or
any issue thereof may contain provisions, subject to such agreements with
bondholders or noteholders as may exist then, which provisions shall be a part
of the contract with the holders thereof, as to: pledging all or any part of
the revenues of the authority to secure the payment of the bonds or notes or of
any issue thereof; the use and disposition of revenues of the authority; a
covenant to fix, alter, and collect rentals and other charges so that pledged
revenues will be sufficient to pay costs of operation, maintenance, and
repairs, pay principal of and interest on bonds or notes secured by the pledge
of the revenues, and provide such reserves as may be required by the applicable
resolution or trust agreement; the setting aside of reserve funds, sinking
funds, or replacement and improvement funds and the regulation and disposition
thereof; the crediting of the proceeds of the sale of bonds or notes to and
among the funds referred to or provided for in the resolution authorizing the
issuance of the bonds or notes; the use, lease, sale, or other disposition of
any water development project or any other assets of the authority; limitations
on the purpose to which the proceeds of sale of bonds or notes may be applied
and pledging the proceeds to secure the payment of the bonds or notes or of any
issue thereof; with regard to notes issued in anticipation of the issuance of
bonds, the agreement of the authority to do all things necessary for the
authorization, issuance, and sale of the bonds in such amounts as may be
necessary for the timely retirement of the notes; limitations on the issuance
of additional bonds or notes; the terms upon which additional bonds or notes
may be issued and secured; the refunding of outstanding bonds or notes; the
procedure, if any, by which the terms of any contract with bondholders or
noteholders may be amended or abrogated, the amount of bonds or notes the
holders of which must consent thereto, and the manner in which that consent may
be given; limitations on the amount of moneys to be expended by the authority
for operating, administrative, or other expenses of the authority; securing any
bonds or notes by a trust agreement in accordance with section
6121.11 of the Revised Code; and
any other matters, of like or different character, that in any way affect the
security or protection of the bonds or notes.

(B) An action taken under this division does
not limit the generality of division (A) of this section.

A resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds or notes by the
authority to provide all or a portion of the state's match for federal
capitalization grants under Title VI of the "Clean Water Act of 1977," 91 Stat.
1566, 33 U.S.C.A.
1251, as amended, to the water pollution
control loan fund created in section
6111.036 of the Revised Code, or
for federal capitalization grants under Title I of the "Safe Drinking Water Act
Amendments of 1996, 110 Stat. 1613,
42 U.S.C.A.
300(f), as amended, to the
drinking water assistance fund created in section
6109.22 of the Revised Code, and
establishing a reserve fund in either case for the payment of the principal of
and interest on the bonds or notes may include, in the event that the revenues
primarily pledged and required to be used for such payments are insufficient to
make any" the payment in full when due, a covenant of the director of
environmental protection that if the principal of or interest on any such bonds
or notes is paid with moneys drawn from such a reserve fund, the director shall
so notify the governor and shall determine to what extent, if any, the moneys
so drawn may be restored to the reserve fund from available moneys previously
appropriated to the environmental protection agency. The covenant also shall
provide that if the moneys so drawn are not immediately and fully restored to
the reserve fund from such available moneys, the director shall promptly submit
to the governor and to the director of budget and management a written request
for either or both of the following:

(1) That the next biennial budget submitted
by the governor to the general assembly include an amount to be appropriated to
the environmental protection agency sufficient for the full replenishment of
the reserve fund;

(2) That the
general assembly be requested to increase appropriations for the environmental
protection agency in the current biennium sufficient for the full replenishment
of the reserve fund.

The director shall include with such requests a recommendation
that the replenishment of the reserve fund be made in the interest of
maximizing the state's entitlements to federal funds under Title VI of the
"Clean Water Act of 1977," 91 Stat. 1566,
33 U.S.C.A.
1251, as amended, or under Title I of the
"Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996," 110 Stat. 1613,
42 U.S.C.A.
300(f), as amended, as
applicable, thereby also maximizing the benefits of the water pollution control
loan fund or the drinking water assistance fund, as applicable, to the
political subdivisions that pay the cost of wastewater treatment projects or
drinking water projects with low-cost loans from those funds. Any such covenant
shall not obligate or purport to obligate the state to pay the principal of or
interest on the bonds or notes or to deposit moneys in a reserve fund
established for those payments other than from moneys lawfully appropriated for
that purpose during the then-current biennium.

(C) Neither the members of the authority nor
any person executing bonds or notes under this section is liable personally on
the bonds or notes or is subject to any personal liability or accountability by
reason of the issuance thereof.

The Ohio water development authority shall not issue any bonds
or otherwise participate in any project authorized by this chapter or Chapter
6123. of the Revised Code unless the contract, resolution, or other written
document setting forth the board's participation specifies that all wages paid
to laborers and mechanics employed on the projects shall be paid at the
prevailing rates of wages of laborers and mechanics for the class of work
called for by the project, which wages shall be determined in accordance with
the requirements of Chapter 4115. of the Revised Code for determination of
prevailing wage rates, provided that the requirements of this section do not
apply to loans made to boards of county commissioners under division (V) of
section 6121.04 of the Revised Code or
where the federal government or any of its agencies furnishes by loan or grant
all or any part of the funds used in connection with the project and prescribes
predetermined minimum wages to be paid to the laborers and mechanics, and
provided that if a non-public user beneficiary of the project undertakes, as
part of the project, construction to be performed by its regular bargaining
unit employees who are covered under a collective bargaining agreement that was
in existence prior to the date of the commitment instrument setting forth the
board's participation, the rate of pay provided under the collective bargaining
agreement may be paid to those employees.

The issuance of water development revenue bonds and notes or
water development revenue refunding bonds under Chapter 6121. of the Revised
Code need not comply with any other law applicable to the issuance of bonds or
notes.

In the discretion of the Ohio water development authority any
water development revenue bonds or notes or water development revenue refunding
bonds issued under Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, may be secured by a trust
agreement between the authority and a corporate trustee, which trustee may be
any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or
without the state.

Any such trust agreement may pledge or assign revenues of the
authority to be received, but shall not convey or mortgage any water
development project or any part thereof. Any such trust agreement or any
resolution providing for the issuance of such bonds or notes may contain such
provisions for protecting and enforcing the rights and remedies of the
bondholders or noteholders as are reasonable and proper and not in violation of
law, including covenants setting forth the duties of the authority in relation
to the acquisition of property, the construction, improvement, maintenance,
repair, operation, and insurance of the water development project or projects
in connection with which such bonds or notes are authorized, the rentals or
other charges to be imposed for the use or services of any water development
project, the custody, safeguarding, and application of all moneys, and
provisions for the employment of consulting engineers in connection with the
construction or operation of such water development project or projects. Any
bank or trust company incorporated under the laws of this state which may act
as depository of the proceeds of bonds or notes or of revenues may furnish such
indemnifying bonds or may pledge such securities as are required by the
authority. Any such trust agreement may set forth the rights and remedies of
the bondholders and noteholders and of the trustee, and may restrict the
individual right of action by bondholders and noteholders as is customary in
trust agreements or trust indentures securing similar bonds. Such trust
agreement may contain such other provisions as the authority deems reasonable
and proper for the security of the bondholders or noteholders. All expenses
incurred in carrying out the provisions of any such trust agreement may be
treated as a part of the cost of the operation of the water development project
or projects. Any such trust agreement or resolution authorizing the issuance of
water development revenue bonds may provide the method whereby the general
administrative overhead expenses of the authority shall be allocated among the
several projects acquired or constructed by it as a factor of the operation
expense of each such project.

Any holder of water development revenue bonds issued under
Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, or any of the coupons appertaining thereto,
and the trustee under any trust agreement, except to the extent the rights
given by such sections may be restricted by the applicable resolution or such
trust agreement, may be suit, action, mandamus, or other proceedings, protect
and enforce any rights under the laws of the state or granted under such
sections, trust agreement, or the resolution authorizing the issuance of such
bonds, and may enforce and compel the performance of all duties required by
such sections, or by the trust agreement or resolution, to be performed by the
Ohio water development authority or any officer thereof, including the fixing,
charging, and collecting of rentals or other charges.

Water development revenue bonds and notes and water development
revenue refunding bonds issued under sections
6121.01 to
6121.22, inclusive, of the Revised
Code, do not constitute a debt, or a pledge of the faith and credit, of the
state or of any political subdivision thereof, and the holders or owners
thereof have no right to have taxes levied by the general assembly or taxing
authority of any political subdivision of the state for the payment of the
principal thereof or interest thereon, but such bonds and notes are payable
solely from the revenues and funds pledged for their payment as authorized by
such sections, unless the notes are issued in anticipation of the issuance of
bonds or the bonds are refunded by refunding bonds issued under Chapter 6121.
of the Revised Code, which bonds or refunding bonds shall be payable solely
from revenues and funds pledged for their payment as authorized by such
sections. All such bonds and notes shall contain on the face thereof a
statement to the effect that the bonds or notes, as to both principal and
interest, are not debts of the state or any political subdivision thereof, but
are payable solely from revenues and funds pledged for their payment.

All expenses incurred in carrying out Chapter 6121. of the
Revised Codeare payable solely from funds provided under such sections. Such
sections do not authorize the Ohio water development authority to incur
indebtedness or liability on behalf of or payable by the state or any political
subdivision thereof.

All moneys, funds, properties, and assets acquired by the Ohio
water development authority under Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, whether as
proceeds from the sale of water development revenue bonds or as revenues, or
otherwise, shall be held by it in trust for the purposes of carrying out its
powers and duties, shall be used and reused as provided in such sections, and
shall at no time be part of other public funds. Such funds, except as otherwise
provided in any resolution authorizing its water development revenue bonds or
in any trust agreement securing the same, or except when invested pursuant to
section 6121.12 of the Revised Code, shall
be kept in depositories as selected by the authority in the manner provided in
sections 135.01 to
135.21, inclusive, of the Revised
Code, in so far as such sections are applicable, and the deposits shall be
secured as provided in sections
135.01 to
135.21, inclusive, of the Revised
Code. The resolution authorizing the issuance of such bonds of any issue or the
trust agreement securing such bonds shall provide that any officer to whom, or
any bank or trust company to which, such moneys are paid shall act as trustees
of such moneys and hold and apply them for the purposes hereof, subject to such
conditions as Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, and such resolution or trust
agreement provide.

Moneys in the funds of the Ohio water development authority,
except as otherwise provided in any resolution authorizing the issuance of its
water development revenue bonds, in any trust agreement securing its water
development revenue bonds, or in any other resolution authorizing the
investment of the funds of the authority, in excess of current needs, may be
invested in notes, bonds, or other obligations of the United States, or of any
agency or instrumentality thereof, or in obligations of this state or any
political subdivision thereof. Income from all such investments of moneys in
any fund shall be credited to such funds as the authority determines, subject
to the provisions of any such resolution or trust agreement, and such
investments may be sold at such times as the authority determines.

The Ohio water development authority may charge, alter, and
collect rentals or other charges for the use or services of any water
development project and contract in the manner provided by this section with
one or more persons, one or more governmental agencies, or any combination
thereof, desiring the use or services thereof, and fix the terms, conditions,
rentals, or other charges for such use or services. Such rentals or other
charges shall not be subject to supervision or regulation by any other
authority, commission, board, bureau, or agency of the state and such contract
may provide for acquisition by such person or governmental agency of all or any
part of such water development project for such consideration payable over the
period of the contract or otherwise as the authority in its sole discretion
determines to be appropriate, but subject to the provisions of any resolution
authorizing the issuance of water development revenue bonds or notes or water
development revenue refunding bonds of the authority or any trust agreement
securing the same. Any governmental agency which has power to construct,
operate, and maintain waste water facilities or water management facilities may
enter into a contract or lease with the authority whereby the use or services
of any water development project of the authority will be made available to
such governmental agency and pay for such use or services such rentals or other
charges as may be agreed to by the authority and such government[al] agency.

Any governmental agency or combination thereof may cooperate
with the authority in the acquisition or construction of a water development
project and shall enter into such agreements with the authority as are
necessary, with a view to effective cooperative action and safeguarding of the
respective interests of the parties thereto, which agreements shall provide for
such contributions by the parties thereto in such proportion as may be agreed
upon and such other terms as may be mutually satisfactory to the parties
including without limitation the authorization of the construction of the
project by one of the parties acting as agent for all of the parties and the
ownership and control of the project by the authority to the extent necessary
or appropriate for purposes of the issuance of water development revenue bonds
by the authority. Any governmental agency may provide the funds for the payment
of such contribution as is required under such agreements by the levy of taxes,
assessments, or rentals and other charges for the use of the utility system of
which the water development project is a part or to which it is connected, if
otherwise authorized by the laws governing such governmental agency in the
construction of the type of water development project provided for in the
agreements, and may pay the proceeds from the collection of such taxes,
assessments, utility rentals, or other charges to the authority pursuant to
such agreements; or the governmental agency may issue bonds or notes, if
authorized by such laws, in anticipation of the collection of such taxes,
assessments, utility rentals or other charges and may pay the proceeds of such
bonds or notes to the authority pursuant to such agreements. In addition any
governmental agency may provide the funds for the payment of such contribution
by the appropriation of money or, if otherwise authorized by law, by the
issuance of bonds or notes and may pay such appropriated money or the proceeds
of such bonds or notes to the authority pursuant to such agreements. The
agreement by the governmental agency to provide such contribution, whether from
appropriated money or from the proceeds of such taxes, assessments, utility
rentals, or other charges, or such bond or notes, or any combination thereof,
is not subject to Chapter 133. of the Revised Code or any regulations or
limitations contained therein. The proceeds from the collection of such taxes
or assessments, and any interest earned thereon, shall be paid into a special
fund immediately upon the collection thereof by the governmental agency for the
purpose of providing such contribution at the times required under such
agreements.

When the contribution of any governmental agency is to be made
over a period of time from the proceeds of the collection of special
assessments, the interest accrued and to accrue before the first installment of
such assessments is collected, which is payable by such governmental agency on
such contribution under the terms and provisions of such agreements, shall be
treated as part of the cost of the improvement for which such assessments are
levied, and that portion of such assessments as are collected in installments
shall bear interest at the same rate as such governmental agency is obligated
to pay on such contribution under the terms and provisions of such agreements
and for the same period of time as the contribution is to be made under such
agreements. If the assessment or any installment thereof is not paid when due,
it shall bear interest until the payment thereof at the same rate as such
contribution and the county auditor shall annually place on the tax list and
duplicate the interest applicable to such assessment and the penalty and any
additional interest thereon as otherwise authorized by law.

Any governmental agency, pursuant to a favorable vote of the
electors in an election held before or after March 7, 1968, for the purpose of
issuing bonds to provide funds to acquire, construct, or equip, or provide real
estate and interests in real estate for, a waste water facility or a water
management facility, whether or not the governmental agency, at the time of
such election, had the authority to pay the proceeds from such bonds or notes
issued in anticipation thereof to the authority as provided in this section,
may issue such bonds or notes in anticipation of the issuance thereof and pay
the proceeds thereof to the authority in accordance with its agreement with the
authority; provided, that the legislative authority of the governmental agency
finds and determines that the water development project to be acquired or
constructed by the authority in cooperation with such governmental agency will
serve the same public purpose and meet substantially the same public need as
the facility otherwise proposed to be acquired or constructed by the
governmental agency with the proceeds of such bonds or notes.

Each water development project, when constructed and placed in
operation, shall be maintained and kept in good condition and repair by the
Ohio water development authority or the authority shall cause the same to be
maintained and kept in good condition and repair. Each such project shall be
operated by such operating employees as the authority employs or pursuant to a
contract or lease with a governmental agency or person. All public or private
property damaged or destroyed in carrying out the powers granted by sections
6121.01 to
6121.22 of the Revised Code, shall
be restored or repaired and placed in its original condition, as nearly as
practicable, or adequate compensation made therefor out of funds provided under
such sections.

On or before the first day of April in each year, the authority
shall make an annual report of its activities for the preceding calendar year
to the governor and the general assembly. Each such report shall set forth a
complete operating and financial statement covering the authority's operations
during the year. The authority shall cause an audit of its books and accounts
to be made at least once each year by certified public accountants and the cost
thereof may be treated as a part of the cost of construction or of operations
of its projects.

The authority, by November of each year preceding the year in
which the state's biennial budget is considered by the general assembly, shall
estimate the total amount of funds necessary to pay all the authority's
expenses with respect to on-going or new projects of the authority and any
other activities of the authority for the next biennial period, including the
amounts necessary to pay the principal of and interest on all bonds or notes
outstanding or to be issued to fund such projects and activities, the amounts
necessary to cover all charges and expenses in connection with the preparation,
issuance, and servicing of such bonds or notes, and the amounts necessary to
pay the costs of operation and maintenance of any facilities constructed or to
be constructed. The sources of all funds projected to be expended in the next
biennial period shall be clearly delineated.

These amounts shall be reported in detail to the office of
budget and management and the legislative budget office of the legislative
service commission at the same time budget requests of other state agencies are
required to be submitted to the office of budget and management.

All water development revenue bonds issued under this chapter
are lawful investments of banks, societies for savings, savings and loan
associations, deposit guarantee associations, trust companies, trustees,
fiduciaries, insurance companies, including domestic for life and domestic not
for life, trustees or other officers having charge of sinking and bond
retirement or other special funds of political subdivisions and taxing
districts of this state, the commissioners of the sinking fund of the state,
the administrator of workers' compensation, the state teachers retirement
system, the public employees retirement system, the school employees retirement
system, and the Ohio police and fire pension fund, and are acceptable as
security for the deposit of public moneys.

The exercise of the powers granted by Chapter 6121. of the
Revised Code, will be in all respects for the benefit of the people of the
state, for the improvement of their health, safety, convenience, and welfare,
and for the enhancement of their residential, agricultural, recreational,
economic, commercial, and industrial opportunities and is a public purpose. As
the operation and maintenance of water development projects will constitute the
performance of essential governmental functions, the Ohio water development
authority shall not be required to pay any taxes or assessments upon any water
development project, or upon any property acquired or used by the authority
under Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code, or upon the income therefrom. The
exemption from taxes and assessments granted to the Ohio water development
authority by this section does not relieve from liability for such taxes and
assessments those persons that are specifically liable, under division (B) of
section 6121.044 of the Revised Code, for
payment of taxes and assessments levied upon waste water facilities and water
management facilities. The transfer to or from the Ohio water development
authority of title or possession of any water development project, part
thereof, or item included or to be included in any such project, is not subject
to the taxes levied pursuant to Chapters 5739. and 5741. of the Revised Code,
and the bonds and notes issued under this Chapter, their transfer, and the
income therefrom, including any profit made on the sale thereof, shall at all
times be free from taxation within the state.

The Ohio water development authority may acquire by purchase,
whenever it deems such purchase expedient, any land, property, rights,
rights-of-way, franchises, easements, and other interests in lands as it deems
are necessary or convenient for the construction and operation of any water
development project, upon such terms and at such price as it considers
reasonable and can be agreed upon between the authority and the owner thereof,
and take title thereto in the name of the state.

All governmental agencies, notwithstanding any contrary
provision of law, may lease, lend, grant, or convey to the authority, at its
request, upon such terms as the proper authorities of such governmental
agencies deem reasonable and fair and without the necessity for an
advertisement, auction, order of court, or other action or formality, other
than the regular and formal action of the governmental agency concerned, any
real property or interests therein including improvements thereto or personal
property which is necessary or convenient to the effectuation of the authorized
purposes of the authority, including public roads and other real property or
interests therein including improvements thereto or personal property already
devoted to public use.

The Ohio water development authority may acquire by
appropriation pursuant to division (J) of section
6121.04 of the Revised Code any
land, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, easements, or other property necessary
or proper for the construction or the efficient operation of any water
development project. In any proceedings for appropriation under this section,
the procedure to be followed shall be in accordance with sections
163.01 to
163.22, inclusive, of the Revised
Code.

This section does not authorize the authority to take or
disturb property or facilities belonging to any public utility or to a common
carrier engaged in interstate commerce, which property or facilities are
required for the proper and convenient operation of such public utility or
common carrier, unless provision is made for the restoration, relocation, or
duplication of such property or facilities elsewhere at the sole cost of the
authority.

When the Ohio water development authority finds it necessary to
change the location of any portion of any public road, state highway, railroad,
or public utility facility in connection with the construction of a water
development project, it shall cause the same to be reconstructed at such
location as the division of government having jurisdiction over such road,
highway, railroad, or public utility facility deems most favorable. Such
construction shall be of substantially the same type and in as good condition
as the original road, highway, railroad, or public utility facility. The cost
of such reconstruction, relocation, or removal and any damage incurred in
changing the location of any such road, highway, railroad, or public utility
facility shall be paid by the authority as a part of the cost of such water
development project.

When the authority finds it necessary that any public highway
or portion thereof be vacated by reason of the acquisition or construction of a
water development project, the authority may request the director of
transportation, in writing, to vacate such highway or portion thereof in
accordance with section
5511.07 of the Revised Code if the
highway or portion thereof to be vacated is on the state highway system, or, if
the highway or portion thereof to be vacated is under the jurisdiction of the
county commissioners, the authority shall request the director, in writing, to
petition the county commissioners, in the manner provided in section
5553.041 of the Revised Code, to
vacate such highway or portion thereof. The authority shall pay to the director
or to the county, as the case may be, as a part of the cost of such water
development project, any amounts required to be deposited with any court in
connection with proceedings for the determination of compensation and damages
and all amounts of compensation and damages finally determined to be payable as
a result of such vacation.

The authority may make reasonable regulations for the
installation, construction, maintenance, repair, renewal, relocation, and
removal of railroad or public utility facilities in, on, over, or under any
water development project. Whenever the authority determines that it is
necessary that any such facilities installed or constructed in, on, over, or
under property of the authority pursuant to such regulations be relocated, the
public utility owning or operating such facilities shall relocate or remove
them in accordance with the order of the authority. The cost and expenses of
such relocation or removal, including the cost of installing such facilities in
a new location, the cost of any lands, or any rights or interests in lands, and
any other rights, acquired to accomplish such relocation or removal, may be
paid by the authority as a part of the cost of such water development project.
In case of any such relocation or removal of facilities, the railroad or public
utility owning or operating them, its successors, or assigns may maintain and
operate such facilities, with the necessary appurtenances, in the new location
in, on, over, or under the property of the authority for as long a period and
upon the same terms as it had the right to maintain and operate such facilities
in their former location.

All meetings of the Ohio water development authority shall be
public and the records of the authority shall be open to public inspection at
all reasonable times, except as otherwise provided in this section. All final
actions of the authority shall be journalized and such journal shall also be
open to the inspection of the public at all reasonable times. Any records or
information relating to secret processes or secret methods of manufacture or
production which may be obtained by the authority or other persons acting under
Chapter 6121. of the Revised Code are confidential and shall not be disclosed.